Daydreams
by Exagie
Summary: When Alice is invited to a slumber party, she can't help but to admire the queen. Part of a HnKnA Gift Exchange on tumblr to candies-and-sweets! Happy Valentine's Day, dear!


Daydreams

_Written by Exagie_

_(Happy Valentine's Day, candies-and-sweets!)_

Alice counted the stripes on the walls, the tiles on the floor, and the individual bulbs on the chandelier. She admired the disarray of stuffed animals and the fine china tea set sprawled out across the floor like a child's toy. She tapped her foot to the rhythm of the rain drops tapping the enormous glass windows. This seemed to be all she could do to calm her nerves.

_"You rang, Vivaldi?" Alice had asked just hours ago as she was finishing her shift. The queen sat on her throne, bright and bubbly as ever._

_ "Ah, yes, Alice! You are just who we wanted to see." She had stepped down from her throne rather gracefully, Alice had noted. The full elegance to account for the crown atop her purple locks. "We have an invitation for you. It is vital you attend."_

_ Vivaldi handed her a thick piece of paper, stamped in a red wax seal at the bottom. Alice removed it carefully, her eyes scanning over the delicately written words._

_ "You're inviting me to a slumber party?" There was surprise in her voice. Vivaldi grinned, clapping her hands._

_ "So you will attend!"_

_ "Um, yes, of course." She didn't take her eyes off of the beautifully written words. Vivaldi must have written this herself. Her handwriting was gorgeous. "Who else is going?"_

_ "It's just us, my dear." Vivaldi gestured between them, her red nails glinting under the light. _

_ "Just us?" The brunette flushed. She tried to hide behind the invitation, but Vivaldi had already noticed._

_ "There's no need to be bashful." Vivaldi assured, smirking. "We just wish to spend some time with you- without the rabbit and knight interrupting."_

_No interruptions, huh? _Alice thought, scooting back against the side of the bed. She kicked her feet lightly off of the edge, taking in deep breathes. As she admired the room, the outsider couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. Everything was so _grand _in comparison to her little room at the other end of the castle. The windows, the walls, the _woman-_

_Queen, Alice._ She mentally corrected herself, feeling her cheeks grow hot as they had earlier. _She is a queen. She isn't just a woman._

_But what if she was? _A tiny voice- a hopeful one- whispered at the back of her head.

There hadn't been time to consider such a possibility. The bedroom doors flung open widely, revealing a woman far too laid back to be queen. Her hair, dark swirls of violet, curled down loose and low, swishing with her thin purple negligee. A sheer robe trailed across the shined floors behind her. An opera star, perhaps, but not quite a queen.

Alice stared. Vivaldi was the epitome of elegance and grace, she had decided long ago. She was much like her older sister at home, with her confidence and beauty. The two were also nothing alike at all; Vivaldi had an impulsive temper higher than anyone she knew, including a mafia boss. She was so much of what Alice felt she had to be- a proper young lady.

But, well, Vivaldi wasn't always so proper.

"Oh, Alice! Your nightdress is so cute!" Vivaldi squealed. Alice looked down at her nightgown, unconvinced. It was very plain; beige with a big pink sash and bow over her shoulders. It didn't even halfway compare to the pure silk of Vivaldi's dress; a dress that fit so kindly against her curves…

"Thank you!" Alice squeaked, pulling herself away from her trance. _She is a queen! _She scolded herself. _I'd be shamed if Nightmare were here to say what I was thinking!_

_But, he isn't here. It's just us. Alone._

"You're quite out of it, aren't you?" Vivaldi asked from beside her. Alice jumped, surprised to find that her majesty had already moved to the bed. Her robe was gone, too. "Is there something on your mind?"

"N-Not particularly." The outsider stuttered.

Vivaldi smiled. "Do you daydream often, Alice?"

"Sometimes." She gripped the end of her hair, playing with the splitting strands.

Vivaldi smiled eagerly, settling herself further on the bed. Leaning forward, she inquired, "What do you daydream about?"

"What do I daydream about?" Alice pondered. "Well, all sorts of things." She paused. "All sorts of people."

"What sorts of people?"

"Um, people." Alice looked away, hiding her blushing face behind her hair. Vivaldi pulled the strands back behind her ear. She took note of how long her majesty's fingers lingered there.

"Who? Is it the hatter, perhaps?" Vivaldi guessed.

"Blood?" Alice scoffed. "A dream of him falling down a well, perhaps."

The queen laughed. "Oh wouldn't that be a sight! You do know how to amuse us, Alice."

Alice smiled sheepishly. She hadn't intended to be funny, but the compliment sent a little jolt into her heart nonetheless. "I'm glad I can entertain you, your majesty."

"Vivaldi." She corrected.

"Vivaldi." The name rolled off of the outsider's tongue. It felt like sweet honey in her mouth. She savored every syllable, every vowel that-

"Alice. You're staring off into space again." Vivaldi interrupted with a raised eyebrow. Alice blinked, pulling herself back to reality. A small bundle of Vivaldi's dolls surrounded their laps on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Vivaldi." Alice apologized, bowing her head.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Vivaldi scooted closer to the girl, carrying her stuffed animal posse with her. "Your face is very red. You're not sick, are you?"

"No, Vivaldi, I'm fine! I promise." Alice reassured her. The wicked smirk that slid upon the queen's lips made her wish she had gone along with the act.

"If you're not sick then you must be thinking of someone. We know that look very well." The queen said.

"I-I'm not!" She stammered, leaning away. Her back hit the headboard. There wasn't anywhere to go. Vivaldi moved close to her, their arms touching.

"Oh, come now, Alice. We aren't so unwise to believe you are perfectly content with your mind wandering so." Vivaldi played with the arms of a stuffed cat in her lap as she spoke. "Who is it that's taken your heart? We won't tell." She proceeded to pretend to lock her lips shut. Alice frowned.

_That's the problem. _She thought, clenching and unclenching the skirt of her negligee. "Well, you see, it's… complicated."

"Aren't they all?" Vivaldi asked with a laugh. "Men are never easy on women. They do not understand how we feel- what efforts we go through for their pleasure."

"Well, I mean…" She couldn't look the queen in the eye. Her heart hammered in her chest, beating rapidly against her thin ribs. Now of all times, she felt more fragile than she had in her entire stay of Wonderland. "It's not a guy I'm thinking about… It's a girl."

"Do we know this girl?" She could hear the smile in the queen's words. She tried to ignore it, choosing instead to focus on breathing steadily.

"…You might. She's around the castle often."

She wasn't prepared for what came next. Something soft and gentle pressed against the top of her head, burying into her mousy brown hair. Alice stayed perfectly still, struggling to keep both her heart from beating out of her chest and her lungs from exploding. When Vivaldi pulled away, a loud sigh of relief escaped the foreigner's throat.

"We shall keep that in mind."

With that, the queen made her way back to her collection of stuffed animals. Alice watched the woman go, a smile sneaking onto her face.

_I will, too._


End file.
